Monday, August 5, 2013

Today's Manicure Monday is the second Etude House polish I had mentioned in my last Monthly Beauty Favorites: Ice Cream Nails in Blue Mint #BL601. Similar to Grapefruit which I reviewed last week, this polish has the same adorable ice cream cone packaging and creamy, bright pigmentation. This turquoise blue is a color that I didn't have an exact dupe for in my collection so I was excited to try it out.

Etude House Blue Mint again comes in a round bottle with an ice cream cone-shaped handle which is lightweight to hold, throwing off the balance of polish application. Although it has a bit of grip since the handle is textured, the cone shape makes it difficult to hold comfortably. Despite the application annoyances, the overall effect of the bottle is adorable and, I'm not going to lie, the main reason I was drawn to the polish!

I applied a base coat of OPI Nail Envy, 2 coats of Blue Mint, and Seche Vite Top Coat. The polish application itself was similar to its sister in that the polish was thick and rather gloopy and also had a very strong chemical smell. I was again surprised that the second coat covered evenly and beautifully since the first coat was more of a struggle. I'm a serial 3-coat applier so anything in 2 coats for me means that it really covers surprisingly well. The wear was similar to other polishes I wear and I didn't have significant chipping problems.

I purchased this bottle from an Etude House store in South Korea where it retails for 2,000 won (about $2 USD) which is extremely inexpensive compared to most American nail polish. The trade-off for the low cost are the application annoyances, but I don't regret the purchase since it's so unique.

Readers, have you tried Etude House Ice Cream Nail polishes? Is your experiences with Korean nail products similar to mine? What is your favorite nail brand? Let me know in the comments!

Wow, this is so perfect colour - absolutely lovely and looks like a candy. How long does the polish last on the nails? For now I'm in love with Essie polishes and they last for quite a long time, so I'm wondering :)StylishSideofLife.blogspot.com

I tend to find Korean nail polishes of a lower (?) quality in comparison to brands like OPI/China Glaze etc. As you said, they tend to be really thick and goopy, which makes application a lot harder.. It's quite disappointing I suppose, which makes me skeptical about trying their facial products. Totally unrelated but the standard of the polish makes me wonder about their skincare/makeup products. Especially from where I come from, the prices of their stuff are usually 3x the price in Korea, so I'd rather use that money, top up a little to get an OPI.